The National Biosafety Management Agency is reported to have issued a seven-day ultimatum to two of the biggest retail stores in Nigeria – Shoprite and Cash ‘n’ Carry – asking them to withdraw any product that contains Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) from their shelves or risk a total shutdown.
According to The Punch, the warning was said to have been handed out to representatives of the two superstores at a briefing in Abuja on Friday.
The Director-General of the NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, said the agency had received complaints from members of the general public about the sale of GMO foods in the stores.
According to him, the agency will not hesitate to shut down any of the stores found selling unregistered GMO products in the country.
Edegba called on representatives of the superstores to ensure that all GMO products on their shelves were duly registered by the agency by obtaining permits.
Genetically Modified Foods are foods produced from organisms that do not occur naturally. The most common GMO foods are Corn, Milk and Sugar.
GMO foods do not necessarily have a label to warn you off, but you can distinguish with the code which has a five-numeral PLU prefaced by the number 8.
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